Alhough not much used in lab based research, maps showing statistical data can be very useful when we want to understand the world and the geographical distribution of stuff. Hence, statistical maps are often used in research fields like epidemiology, economics and sociology.

The UK Dpt for Communities and Local Government has presented an excellent overview. Basically there are three types which are more or less self-explanatory:

colour shaded maps

proportional symbol maps

dot maps.

Recently, 40 different statistical maps were compiled on the blog Bored Panda. Here you can learn more about everything from breast size worldwide to the most popular sports in the world. Informative, fascinating and inspiring for everybody interested in information design.

The only countries in the world that don’t use the metric system. Come on, USA – what would e.g. your founding father Benjamin Franklin have thought about this?